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Monday, July 23, 2012

My friend Lorena invited me to join an altered book round robin with a group of her friends from Hawaii (mostly). Our instructions were to pick the theme we wanted for our books, find a book to alter, and make the covers and one or two spreads so the other participants will understand what we had in mind with our theme.

I love fairy tales, so that's the theme I chose. I love the vintage ones, the ethnic ones, the irreverent interpretations -- just about anything related to them, really. So my book cover has a little of all that.

Below are the pages, starting from the front cover, inside cover, and then the pages, which flip up rather than turning left to right.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Summertime, and the Livin' is Easy. I hope you're enjoying some lemonade and restful days as the heat wave continues. Sending you a few of my favorites to help you get comfy.
The Book: This month my in-person book group selected Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. The book is short by any standards, only about 150 pages, which is a good thing because after I read it the first time I had one of those paradigm shifting experiences (think "Sixth Sense") that made me want to immediately reread it. Which I did, with a highlighter. I haven't used one of those in years, but the book was so full of information that did, in fact, give you a sense of the ending - without ever giving up the actual ending - that I felt compelled to track the clues. Have you read it? Whats your interpretation? Let's talk.
The Movie: Beasts of the Southern Wild. if you haven't seen it, let me just say that this is a pretty incredible movie about a little girl and her father who live in a southern Delta community. Her mother left when she was little and her father is raising her to be strong, as he knows he won't be around for long. The acting and cinematography in this movie is outstanding, and the man who plays the father was an unknown working in a bakery when found for the movie. The movie doesn't preach or set out to teach lessons and it doesn't try to be all things to all people, which might just be what sets it apart from every other movie out there.
The TV Show: in the "new show" category, I'm loving Newsroom. In the "shows I never thought I'd like" group, it's The Walking Dead. Zombies and me. That's an unlikely combination, but it's actually more about the living people than the dead ones.
The weather: two days ago it was 100+ degrees in New York. Today it's 65 degrees. Can we get our act together here? At least we've gotten some rain, which is more than most parts of the country can say. Bring on the sprinkles!
The video: if you like to cook and you like kids, you're going to LOVE this video. The little guy is a former student who is a future food star. http://www.hooplaha.com/cook-with-peter-watermelon-granita/
Enjoy!

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

It's true - I haven't posted in a while. And one or two people have let me know it. It's nice to be missed. So I'm back, and while I was gone...

I went to the ranch we love in Wyoming and enjoyed the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains. There is nothing like waking up in the morning to the sound of horses hooves, howdys and a cup of coffee in front of a fire. I've realized I'm a much more cautious rider since I was thrown a couple of years ago. And cautious doesn't necessarily mean safer. I hope I can regain my confidence in order to fully enjoy riding again. I've never really given much thought to how I ride, body position, etc. - but now I need to do that.

I read LOTS of books. Defending Jacob. Everything Beautiful Happened After. The Art of Fielding. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob DeZoet. You Deserve Nothing. (It's amazing what happens when I close the lid on this computer!)

I bound my lace book. (See photos below.) I used a cropadile to set grommets on each page and then threaded cording through all the holes.

The cover - you can seem the grommet and the hemp cord.

Look at these yummy layers of lace and fabric:

I went to the Jersey shore with my daughter and husband, his first visit to a boardwalk. I love the smell of the tar and the wood underfoot, the sound of the wheels spinning and the pop of the balloons at the boardwalk games. Although I've been living in New York City for eight years, a part of me will always be a Jersey girl. (Did you know you can get fried Oreos and fried Twinkies? I had to take a bit of one.)

I went to a beautiful park in the Bronx with two of my dear friends - and to Central Park several times. I saw several Broadway shows: Nice Work if you Can Get it; One Man, Two Guvernors, Once, and (once again) Avenue Q. I recommend all of them.

And we're in the final countdown for little Liam's arrival! Ally is due in 3 weeks, which means she could go at any time. We're all very excited!

Ally (on right) with her cousin Aileen. They are due 3 days apart - both with boys!